


An Old Friend

by carnivalsex



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Kid Fic, Kid John, Kid Sherlock, Kidlock, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-30
Updated: 2012-11-30
Packaged: 2017-11-19 21:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/578003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carnivalsex/pseuds/carnivalsex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock looked down at the small piece of paper in his hands, it was slightly torn at the corners, and the six year old frowned at it, before looking around the playground for his friend. Seeing the blond standing with a group of other boys, and his football at his feet, Sherlock ran over, smiling as he tugged on John's sleeve. "Wanna play pirates with me, John?" He held out the small sheet of paper. "I have a treasure map and everything!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Old Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I must warn you, this is my first piece of work. Would appreciate some advice if you have any at the end!

Young Sherlock Holmes hopped out of his classroom as he ran into the hallway and headed for the outside door, John would be so excited, he couldn't wait! Feeling some of the other students shove him out of the way to get there first he frowned, slowly stepping back by the older kids lockers as he watched the children run out to the playground. “Move it, kid.” He heard one of the older student speak up as he was shoved out of the way and into the doors, yet again almost getting run over by non-caring students. So, quietly he waited for everyone to be gone, getting the usual dirty looks as he moved his pale blue-green eyes to the ground. Of course, he was used to this, the stares and glares. Mycroft had told him that he got those stares too sometimes, but he'd just ignore them and walk on so, Sherlock was determined to do the same.

Once he finally got out the school he grinned, the temperature was perfect weather to play pirates in and best of all his first mate was just across the field, talking with his friends as usual. Sherlock's eyes flickered down the the football down at their feet as he wondered if he should really go over. If John was playing a game he didn't want to interrupt the older, but playing pirates with John was so much fun.. After a few moments of thought, he looked down to the treasure map in hand, the edges ripped a bit to make it look like a real pirate map. Maybe he was just a stupid kid... at least that's what John's friends called him. But, the older was different. With a nod and a smile he ran across the field, dodging the other children as he approached John with a wide smile and tugged at the sleeve of his blue school jumper. 

“Wanna play pirates with me, John?” He held out the small sheet of paper, a grin still wide. “Look, I have a treasure map and everything!”

The eight year blonde chuckled with his friends as he hadn't noticed little Sherlock running over. "Hey, look, it's the freak." One of them laughed as Sherlock started to approach, the blonde looking over to his smaller friend as he frowned. "He's not a freak... stop calling him that." John protested to his friends before he smiled as Sherlock tugged on his sleeve, looking down at him as the others just rolled their eyes. He had known that the rest of them didn't exactly like Sherlock, nobody really did and of course, John had guessed it was due to the fact that even though he had been younger, he had been must smarter than any of his other friends. 

"He doesn't want to play with you, freak, so bugger off." The rest of them laughed again as John glared, wrapping an arm around the younger's shoulders and bringing him closer. 

"Lets go, Sherlock. They're just jealous because of all the treasure we'll find. Heed on, Captain Holmes!" John smiled proudly of his small friend as he stood tall in front of them with Sherlock glued to his side.

Sherlock frowned slightly as John's friends told him to bugger off, but he turned to look up at John when the boy put his arm around his shoulders, bringing him closer to his side. He forced a small smile for the other, trying to ignore the prickling sensation in his eyes at the mean and rude things the other boys were saying. Remembering exactly what Mycroft had told him to do in a situation like that. Walk away. The younger nodded, walking away with John, map in his hand which was hung limply by his side. "John, do you think I'm a freak?..." He had waited until they were far enough away from the group so that they wouldn't hear his voice when it cracked, or see the few tears that rolled down his face. Sherlock wiped his face with his soft sleeve, not caring that it was something Mycroft or Mummy would have scolded him for. 

John looked down to Sherlock as he heard his voice crack, frowning as he slowed, changing direction to the tree they usually went to when the other had been sad and wanted to just talk instead of play pirates. Which of course, was rare. 

"Of course, I don't Sherlock. You're awesome. You're way smarter than those guys and you're two years younger! Like I said before, they're just jealous of you." He smiled softly down at the young six year old.

Once he got to the tree he let the other crawl on his back due to the fact that the other didn't know how to climb. "Do you think you're a freak, Sherlock?" The blonde asked quietly as they got to their usual branch, letting Sherlock crawl off before sitting beside him and swinging his legs back and forth. John had hoped not, Sherlock was so cool, the coolest six year old he had ever met. It would be a shame if the curled haired boy thought any less of himself than how John thought of him. Seeing a tear escape the younger's eye he frowned again and leaned over to wipe the small tear away with the cuff of his school jumper.

Sherlock settled down on his branch, sending John a thankful look as he sniffed slightly considering the question. "Yes." He shrugged, knowing that it wasn't much of a secret. "Of course I do, John. Everyone else always tells me I am." 

The younger shuffled over towards the trunk of the tree as carefully as he could, frowning as he swayed slightly. With assurance that he wasn't going to fall he wrapped his pale arms around the trunk, resting his cheek against it. The younger often liked hugs when he was sad, but he'd never ask for one, Mycroft and Mummy always knew when to hug him, but he was sure John wouldn't want to anyway, not with his friends where they would be able to see. 

John watched with a frown, why in the world was Sherlock hugging a tree? It was strange to see the other rest his cheek against it like it was his Mummy's shoulder or Mycroft's big belly. It made him chuckle at the thought of last time him and Sherlock had made fun of it. But now was not the time for giggling as he shook his head and looked back to the other.

“Just because people tell you something doesn't mean it's true, do you think it's true when people call me a dummy?” Then again, he was usually called that because he hung out and played with the younger.

Continuing to watch the dark haired boy it made John sad to see the other hug the cold tree, scooting over he wrapped his arms around Sherlock and gave him a big hug.

Sherlock blinked a few times before he clutched at John's school jumper instead, surprised but thankful – hugging the tree wasn't very nice, the bark was jagged and poking into his cheek while on top of all that it was just plain cold. Not like John, his jumper smelled nice, and he was warm along with soft to bury his face into. 

“People only say you're a dummy because you spend time with me, and they don't like me...” He frowned slightly, tightening his grip a little. “I don't like your friends, they aren't very nice.”

The older sighed as he felt the dark curls brush up against his cheek, keeping his arms around Sherlock as he felt him tighten his grip. 

“I know they aren't, Sherlock... I should really stop hanging out with them and hang out with you more. They don't even like pirates, can you believe that?” He grinned as he held Sherlock tighter. “Well, whether they think I'm a dummy or not, you're still my friend, and I don't like it when they're mean to you. I promise that I'll protect you, like a good first mate should!”

Sherlock fell silent as he listened to what John had told him, keeping close and snuggled up in the warm jumper as he couldn't keep eye contact with the other any longer. He had found it unusual how the older had told him that he was willing give up his friends of the same age, just to keep Sherlock happy. Mycroft had always warned him about things like these, he had said that John would always choose his older friends over him and to Sherlock, it had made perfect sense. He had just been the annoying little kid who clung to the only person willing to be his real friend, he understood why John would rather choose his older friends over the younger.

“Mycroft said that you would stop playing with me, if your friends were mean to you for it.” The curly haired boy didn't like the idea very much, but he wouldn't be cross with the other for wanting older friends. He would be upset, but not cross.

“Well then Mycroft's the dummy.” John interjected as he frowned with a light squeeze to remind the other that he was still there. “Just because Mycroft told you that doesn't mean it's true. You're my best friend, Sherlock. I wouldn't leave you by yourself, that would just be mean. And I don't want to be mean to my friend, as much as my friends are to me.” He ruffled Sherlock's curls as he looked down at the younger. “You're a lot better than the rest of my friends, I mean, not everyone gets to be friends with the smartest kid in the whole school.” 

Sniffling again, he pushed the other away, rubbing at his icy blue eyes before looking up at John through wet lashes. “I'm not better, John. I'm just good at science...” 

Another small frown formed on his cheeks as he wiped his puffy eyes. “Don't tell anyone I cried, promise?” The young boy held out his hand, his fingers curled expect for his pinky. “Pinky promise you won't.”

The blonde looked worried as he wiped Sherlock's face with both hands, seeing a few extra tears escape the obviously upset eyes that the younger had been sporting. As the other poked out his pinky, John had taken a moment of hesitation to bite his lip before pulling the other over again in a tight hug. 

“I promise.” He muttered as he pulled away with a smile. 

“You wanna go play pirates now? Or do you want to stay up here till the bell rings?” The suggestions were said with a smile, hoping to turn Sherlock's sad expression into one of excitement as he had hated seeing the sad look in the younger's eyes.

Sherlock thought for a moment. “I want you to go play with your other friends, but I want you to help me down first, I can't do it on my own...”

He leaned over the branch, trying to find the boys that his older friend had been playing with before. “My map isn't finished yet...”

The boy had felt bad for lying to John, but he hadn't wanted the older boy to lose friends just because of him. Folding the map back up he only frowned slightly as he heard it rip once it was shoved back into his pocket.

John frowned as he shook his head. “No! It's not right that they're mean to you Sherlock, I don't like it and I want it to stop. They won't listen to me so I'll just stop hanging out with them, you're nicer anyways, and more important. We can work on the map together, please Sherlock?...”

He sighed a little as he got no answer, watching the boy continue to look down to the ground below as he swung his legs loosely before he picked up the other and slid him onto his back. Crawling back down branch by branch he finally touched the ground, letting the curly haired boy drop from his back before he turned around to face him.

“Do you not like me anymore?... Is that why?... I didn't mean what I said about Mycroft!” He would've been scolded for jumping to conclusions, Mum had always told him not too in situations when he felt nervous.

The younger frowned, looking down as he shook his head, his curls bouncing around a bit as he bit his quivering lip lightly. He hadn't made any effort to answer John's question as he just shrugged his shoulders a little instead.

“I want you to have friends, Mycroft and Mummy said friends make people happy...”

The blonde had looked down to the ground, feeling a bit confused and upset at the same time. If Mycroft and Sherlock's Mummy had told him that friends make people happy then wouldn't Sherlock would've wanted friends? He didn't look very happy at the moment after all... it took a moment before it finally clicked in John's brain as he dug his shoe into the ground a bit. Sherlock didn't want to be his friend anymore, that's why he wanted him to leave. And even after all the pirates they had played together and the fun they had, Sherlock just didn't want him anymore.

“A-Alright...” he sniffled, “Um... bye...” John wasn't exactly sure what to say to a friend that wasn't a friend anymore as he turned on his heel and headed over to the swings that had been abandoned, ignoring the group from before as he sat down and dug his shoes into the gravel, the white power coming off the small rocks and dusting onto his leather shoes.

Sherlock watched as John walked off and sat on one of the swings, not even pumping himself as it looked like he was just sitting there staring at the ground. He hadn't been sure of what to do now, normally he would've gone and sat down to read by himself, but he felt like he wouldn't be able to concentrate on the words at the moment. He didn't have anyone else to play with as he was sure they would all tell him to go away, and now John had probably never wanted to talk to him again. Instead he headed to the office, thinking he could maybe talk Mrs. Hudson, the school nurse, into calling Mummy so he could pick him up as he faked a sore tummy.

\--

Years had pasted and John had moved, the two after that day hadn't talked to each other, sometimes the blonde would glance over at his once friend and see him with a nose stuck in his book like always or trying to sneak into the teachers room so he could let the class frog out and poke at it a bit. His last day there was his hardest, he wanted to go say bye to Sherlock, tell him he was sorry for anything he had done, but decided that it probably hadn't been a good idea. The other didn't want him anymore anyways, so what was the point? 

The older could remember packing his things, his old soccer ball, a few books that he had on his shelf, and even a few maps that he had decided to keep in case him and Sherlock were to ever meet again. Though unfortunately after moving day he hadn't seen Sherlock for a long, long time. Almost twenty-five years in fact. And when he had seen the detective again he was more than pleased. Ready to tell him all that had happened with him over the years, all of the stupid decisions and heartbreaks, wondering what exactly the other had been up to all this time, though as he was introduced it was like Sherlock had forgotten who he was. 

Sure, the now army doctor had understood what with all that intelligence stored up in his head that his memory might be a bit foggy, but he really remembered nothing. Not one thing. In fact, Mycroft even remembered him, why couldn't his old best friend? 

Eventually after time he had given up on the idea and went through his normal days of living with the consulting detective, able to put up with his snark and rude ways due to the fact that he wouldn't leave the man again, it had already been hard as a child, how hard would it be now? The day came where the detective had been out on a case and John was home alone, just back from work with a box on the table. God, it was still dusty and a bit moldy from the years of being unopened and now here it was. 

The man put down his cup of tea as he reached over to the box and opened up the flaps, smiling at the contents inside as he started to dig. The soccer ball had been flat now and some of the books had been ruined by the mold, but most of it had still been in good shape. Reaching into the box he pulled out a few items until he got to the bottom, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the scattered papers on the bottom. He hadn't exactly remembered those being there as he picked up one of pieces and looked over the back with a name too damaged from the mold he couldn't read, his eyebrow still raised he flipped it over as a grin slowly started to form on his lips. Sherlock's old maps... they were still there. Soon enough he had pulled out all the scattered pieces, some of them ripped as he moved them around the table and picked up a few to look. He had wondered how these things had survived, what with all the moving he had done, and most of them were still in great shape, even down to the last detail of John and Sherlock's name at the bottom of the paper either on the back or front. He had stayed there for hours, looking through every paper and book he could find as he was soon passed put on the couch, barely shifting as the door was opened by the curly haired detective.

“John, make me some tea would you?” Sherlock muttered as he slid off his coat and hung it up, hearing a grunt in response as he sighed a bit and walked over, looking to the doctor on the couch as the coffee table had been full of stacks going from books to papers as he made his way closer and scanned over the contents. 

John rolled over to his side just as Sherlock slid off his scarf and picked up a few books to look at the covers before going to the papers. 

Though what Sherlock had seen, well he hadn't been expecting to see. The paper looked a bit old, ripped in some places as his eyes trailed over the scribbles on the page, the winding paths and notes stuck here and there. It had only been as he flipped over the paper to look at the back that he had seen who had written this. 

Property of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. 

The side of Sherlock's lips curled up in a smile as he read. “And you thought I forgot.”

**Author's Note:**

> The ending was rushed all together, unfortunately I had been too eager to post it, probably should've put more time into it... well anyhow, hope you liked it and thank you for putting up with my terrible beginner skills if you read the whole thing!


End file.
